Assembler 0 – A 3-D-printable test-bed for partial self-replication

Created by jackvial • Released under MIT License

Assembler 0 is an open, low-cost robot whose long-term goal is to re-print its own plastic parts while still relying on externally supplied motors, boards, and power.
The first milestone is deliberately modest: demonstrate partial material closure—i.e. show that the machine can manufacture some of its own structure—while keeping the electronics and actuation paths open for later closure.

What the robot is

• A modular three-arm cell built entirely from printable SO101 limbs:
  – Gripper arm for general pick-and-place
  – Screwdriver arm (6-DOF) for fastening operations
  – 3-D-printer arm (in development) that will eventually extrude the very joints and links it is made of
• Leader / follower tele-operation lets you bimanually coordinate two arms in real time; every motion is logged as an imitation-learning episode.
• MuJoCo simulation stack (Linux + NVIDIA GPU) mirrors the hardware and runs in the browser at localhost:1337, so you can prototype policies before printing.

What makes it distinctive

1. Self-replication as a design driver, not a marketing after-thought.
   The kinematics, fastener layout, and even the cable routes are chosen so that the printed portions can be unscrewed and re-printed by the same machine.
2. Complete data pipeline in one repo.
   Calibration → tele-operation → dataset recording → policy training (via LeRobot) → hardware deployment are all single-command scripts.
3. Curated imitation dataset already shipped.
   “Screwdriver 391” bundles 391 tele-operated screw-driving episodes—enough to bootstrap a baseline policy without collecting your own data.

Quick start for builders

git clone https://github.com/jackvial/assembler0\
cd assembler0/robot\\<follow calibration.md>\\<run teleoperate.py>   # arms on /dev/ttyACM0 & /dev/ttyACM1, camera /dev/video4\\```  
Every STL, BOM, and wiring diagram is in `/hardware`; the MuJoCo XML is kept in lock-step so that sim weights transfer to the real arms with no re-tuning.  
  
If you are looking for a **hackable, documented, and simulation-backed platform** to experiment with *machines that make machines*, Assembler 0 is the place to start.